In brief: News for lawyers

Working with justice partners, Legal Aid Ontario is taking steps to ensure the safety of our clients, staff and stakeholders in our effort against COVID-19 (coronavirus), as well as the continuity of service.

Bill C‑75 amendments to the Criminal Code of Canada include the hybridization of about 118 straight indictable offences, and standardization of a new maximum term of imprisonment for the majority of summary conviction offences to two years, less a day. Legal Aid Online will be updated to reflect this on February 23rd. Changes will include: Adding “Summary Conviction” to the election…

As of February 3, 2020, LAO’s Family Case Management program is expanding to include: family or domestic cases likely to cost more than $12,000, including fees and disbursements child protection cases likely to cost more than $8,000, including fees and disbursements This is in addition to helping lawyers manage costly and complex CYFSA‑extended society care…

Deadline extended to May 31, 2020 The annual self‑report for panel lawyers is now available in the Personal Info section of Legal Aid Online. You must complete your self‑report by March 31, 2020 to renew membership on legal aid panels, confirm ongoing compliance with panel standards, and update your panel standing. This takes just a couple…

Thanks to client feedback, we’ve updated our policy to clarify that all family law services are available to incarcerated clients, when they meet LAO’s legal and financial eligibility requirements.

Following Bill C-97 amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act that now require mandatory hearings in some pre-removal risk assessments, LAO will now cover all clients with a PRRA certificate who are scheduled for a PRRA hearing.

In addition to Legal Aid Ontario’s own commitment to accessibility, LAO is required by law to be compliant with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA).

On November 18, 2019 LAO will provide some additional family duty counsel services.

We have recently moved to a new District structure that very closely matches the Ontario Court of Justice (OCJ) judicial districts, except for the North where we now have one District while the OCJ has two. This results in our total number of districts having been reduced from 10 to 6. The objective of the…

Further to LAO’s August announcement restoring immigration and refugee services, starting September 23, 2019, RPD hearing preparation authorizations for most claims will again be available after a claim has been referred to the Immigration and Refugee Board and when lawyers need to begin preparation work. The requirement for a hearing to be scheduled will no longer…